National Cancer Institute

at the National Institutes of Health

Fred Hutchinson study suggests delaying childbirth may reduce the risk of an aggressive form of breast cancer in younger women

Posted: December
13, 2012

Younger women who wait at least 15 years after their first menstrual period to give birth to their first child may reduce their risk of an aggressive form of breast cancer by up to 60 percent, according to a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study. The findings are published online in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. The study is the first to look at how the interval between first menstrual period and age at first birth is related to the risk of this particular type of breast cancer. It is also the first study to look at the relationship between reproductive factors and breast cancer risk among premenopausal women, who have a higher risk of triple-negative and HER2-overexpressing breast cancer than postmenopausal women.

Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 67 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancer’s origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers’ research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.